It is known to provide an elastic engaging member, such as a lance, within a connector housing to fix terminals therein. The lance is typically integrally formed with the connector housing, which is formed from an insulative resin. The shape and elasticity of the lance is thereby dictated by the material used to form the connector housing. As a result, there are cases in which the terminals cannot be positively engaged, if the amount of elastic displacement of the lance is insufficient. On the other hand, if the amount of elastic displacement is increased, for example, by lengthening an arm of the lance, a possibility arises that the holding force to fix the terminals becomes insufficient.
In order to solve this problem, a double engaging structure is used to fix the terminals within the connector housing. In the double engaging structure, a lance primarily engages the terminals housed within the connector housing, and a retainer is inserted through an aperture in an outer peripheral wall of the connector housing to secondarily engage the terminals. U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,105 discloses an example of this type of double engaging structure. In this example, a lance is provided on a retainer. The terminals housed within a connector housing are simultaneously engaged with the lance and a stepped portion of the retainer. A window for disengaging the engagement with the terminals is provided at a front end thereof toward terminal insertion openings.
In the above described electrical connector, primary engagement by the lance of the retainer and secondary engagement by the retainer are performed simultaneously. However, fixing and holding of the terminals are mostly borne by the retainer, and the lance contributes very little to the fixing and holding of the terminals. In order to positively engage the terminals with the lance, it is necessary to provide a space that enables a sufficient amount of elastic displacement of the lance, which is a barrier to miniaturization of the connector. Additionally, it is difficult to visually confirm the engagement state of the terminals housed within the connector housing of the electrical connector, and it is therefore difficult to operate a disengaging member, such as a rod-shaped disengaging jig, that is inserted through the windows to release the engagement of the terminals.